A number ofVietnamese officials have now threatened to bring legal action against Chinaover their territorial dispute in the South China Sea; but it does not seem to be having any impact on China's efforts to defend and sustain their presence. As Bloomberg reports, a total of five Chinese fighter jets have now been deployed to the area of exploration in disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam today (compared to 1 previous day) citing Fishing Control Department under Vietnam’s agriculture ministry. China has refused to answer the case the Philippines filed with an international tribunal at The Hague. It is likely to pursue a similar strategy if Vietnam appeals to international law in its own disputes with China.

Vietnam appears set to use international law to settle its territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea... (via The Diplomat)

A number of Vietnamese officials have now threatened to bring legal action against China over their territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

And China is responding in kind (as Bloomberg reports)...

Total of five Chinese fighter jets deployed to area of exploration rig in disputed waters off coast of Vietnam today, compared to 1 previous day, newspaper reports, citing Fishing Control Department under Vietnam’s agriculture ministry.

China still maintains 120 vessels of all kinds, including 4 military ships in disputed Paracel Islands area: newspaper

Some 50 Vietnamese ships are fishing in Paracel Islands area 20-30 nautical miles from the rig: newspaper

Speaking to Bloomberg News on Friday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that Vietnam is preparing to bring its territorial row with China to an international arbitrator. “We are prepared and ready for legal action,” Dung said, according to Bloomberg. “We are considering the most appropriate timing to take this measure.”

Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh reiterated the prime minister’s statement on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend. He also stated that China has asked Vietnam not to pursue legal action. “They [China] have asked us several times not to bring the case to international court,” Vinh told reporters on the sidelines of the annual security forum. “Our response was that it’s up to China’s activities and behavior; if they continue to push us, we have no choice. This [legal] option is also in accordance with international law.”

Earlier in the summit, Vinh held a bilateral meeting with Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of general staff of the People’s Liberation Party, the highest ranking military official Beijing sent to the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Vietnam was one of many countries who used the Shangri-La Dialogue to criticize China’s actions in Asia’s maritime disputes in the South and East China Seas. As The Diplomat has previously reported, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made implicit criticisms of China’s recent actions in his keynote speech on Friday, while U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made more explicit criticisms of China.

Australia also criticized China’s recent actions. “They’ve been certainly unhelpful, and if they’re unhelpful they must be destabilizing,” Australian Defense Minister David Johnston said at the Singapore conference. “The unilateral action of the declaration of boundaries is completely unhelpful and takes us in the wrong direction.”

General Wang lashed out at both Japan and the United States during his own speech to the annual forum on Sunday. He accused Tokyo and Washington of colluding together in criticizing China, though he said he preferred Hagel’s remarks because they were more direct than Abe’s, which didn’t mention China directly.

Vietnam’s threats to take up its case for sovereignty with an international arbitrator has obvious parallels with the Philippines, who is also appealing to international courts to deal with its territorial disputes with China over parts of the South China Sea. Last month, Prime Minister Dung traveled to the Philippines to meet with President Benigno Aquino III as well as attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia. Dung said during the trip that the two leaders “shared deep concern over the current extremely dangerous situation caused by China’s many actions that violate international law.”

Around the same time, Dung told the Associated Press that, “like all countries, Vietnam is considering various defense options, including legal actions in accordance with the international law.” According to the Associated Press, it was the first time Vietnam had seriously considered using international law to help resolve its dispute with China. Two unnamed Vietnamese diplomats told the Associated Press at the time that Vietnam might join the Philippines ongoing case or else begin its own complaint against China.

China has refused to answer the case the Philippines filed with an international tribunal at The Hague. It is likely to pursue a similar strategy if Vietnam appeals to international law in its own disputes with China. Interestingly, in his remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue, General Wang rejected U.S. criticisms that China isn’t following international law by noting that the U.S. has not signed onto the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas.

The shitting eating Chincoms should start the fight already. What a bunch of 1.5 billion pussies. Do you think they would even exist if they're the same size as Vietnam.
I once fought these Chins, when I was a kid in San Francisco. They bring the whole clan to the fight, their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers. It was mayhem. It's in their DNA, going in with numbers, but one to one, they're just pussies.

this is the US talking not Phillipines or Vietnam - the new order is to reduce this war game to lawyers in courts / venues the US controls with phony arbitrators picked for the task - there are no facts, logic, prescident - only control of the venue

Chinese or Russia or X will never win in those arenas - its all a set up - key is new currency and new settlement system so the debt / judgment can never be realized

the US is promoting a new curency ex the dollar every time people around the world see this bullshit

we are witnessing a major sea change - no one believes anything anywhere in the world the US says

Today will be deemed the Obama Age of Lies and damn lies - he will go down as the Liar President!

It is fascinating to watch the MSM skate from one agenda to another. For example, Syria Syria Syria. When that plan fails, they segue into inane celebutard cases, sports and other diversions. Before you know it is all about Ukraine. When that debacle fails it is back to more blah blah. We live in frighteningly Orwellian times...

The truth is that the economy is a lie ,US foreign policy is a disaster- in the wake lies civil war , death and human misery, the debt is continuing to explode, and yet it still has the appearence of continuity. These are fucking strange days.

How are we supposed to take the Chinese people seriously when they give their offspring names like Wang? Greetings General Wang..... snicker snicker... It's been far too LONG since we last met. How is your son Lon Dong? Is he still Lei Ying Lo with Sum Dum Gai? What? What did I say? Is Sum Ting Wong?

Well jan with the stupidity that seems to be inherent in the system, for fuks sake what do you expect? Mongo enjoys an enlightening, intellectual conversation as much as the next drunk guy....but this whole bukake sham has jaded even the aarmchair wannabe Nietzsches! So if you would please contribute some sensible diatribe it just might be refreshing:-)

I'm honored that your first post in your 2 years 19 weeks of being a member was to reply to mine. I'll take that as a compliment because I know an intelligence person like yourself understands that we live in an insane world and sometimes a person has to have a little fun in order to keep themselves out of the nut house. I guess another option for a person would be to walk around with a stick up their ass using their one and only comment to criticize rather than to say something constructive, but what kind of asshole would want to be a person like that?

A number of Vietnamese officials have now threatened to bring legal action against China over their territorial dispute in the South China sea. The next logical step should that fail, would be to call a wambulance.

In the world of land grabs, posession is nine tenths of the law. Always has been. Ron Paul would say it's none of our damm business. I would have to agree. If we do want to get involved, we will just have to borrow more money from China to finance the war?

The thing is, drilling ended last month. The Chinese probably have a dry hole there or there would be production facilities en route.

But you generally drill 5 or 6 before you declare a region empty. FYI, the seismic imagery can only show structures that might hold oil. They can't see if oil is there. This is why so many wells are drilled and fail to find anything significant.

If you knew it was empty, you would not drill. But when all you know is that the geology looks promising, then you have to spend millions drilling to say . . . empty. No one is ever happy about that and jobs are lost when it happens, which is more often than not.

Drilling Dry Holes. This could be a Paul Krugman wet dream. Massive drilling operation causing huge economic stimulus in machinery and jobs, yet coming up empty with no oil to pollute. This game could go on forever. And for an extra benifit, maybe a war to boot. What is not to like.